Beginnings Family Services
1 Young St - Suite 520 L8N 1T8 Hamilton, ON, Canada

Openness in adoption can help your child to understand their roots, their past, their culture and their heritage. It gives them access to their first family, to... various degrees, and it allows them to know things like their medical history and the circumstances that led to them being placed in an adoptive family. It can be beautiful, it can be hard, it can be complicated. We have a virtual support group focused on strengthening open adoptions, to help you navigate your journey. Join here: http://www.adopt4life.com/join-our-community

Join us this #givingtuesday and help support women and families to receive pregnancy and parenting support! For every $20 donated to a maximum of $30,000, @canadahelps will donate an extra $2! To donate, visit: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/3892... #GivingTuesdayCA #beginningsfamilyservices #pregnancysupport #parentingsupport #adoption #ontarioadoption

Join in Beneath the Blanket of Permanence: Uncovering the Truth of the Journey on December 4th, 2020! This training is hosted by Karen Moore, MA (Leadership), B...SDS, ECE, RSW and will address the key concepts of permanency while also reviewing strategies to support when times get really hard. Learn more here: http://ow.ly/pb8f50Cn3N5 See more

Thank you so much for joining us for adoption month! Openness is going to look different for every family. Whereas some may just want occasional updates and pictures, others have a much more interactive relationship featuring visits and regular contact. No matter the level of openness, it allows for the child to know who they are and to maintain those connection with their first family and to establish their own identity. To learn more about adoption and openness visit us at... www.beginnings.ca Check out the Adoption Council of Ontario @ontarioadopts for online courses about adoption https://www.adoption.on.ca/adoption-matters #openness #opennessis #openadoption #adoption #adoptioninontario #beginningsfamilyservices #bfsadoption #nationaladoptionmonth #adoptionmonth

#openness #opennessis #openadoption #adoption #adoptioninontario #beginningsfamilyservices #bfsadoption #nationaladoptionmonth #adoptionmonth

Did someone bring a wash cloth? Little ones like Dani enjoy getting to spend time doing fun things with their birth families - from arts and crafts, to playing in the park, to visiting the zoo. Nourishing and supporting relationships between children and the birth families is a great way to make sure they have access to a strong support system as they grow up. #openness #opennessis #openadoption #adoption #adoptioninontario #beginningsfamilyservices #bfsadoption #nationaladoptionmonth #adoptionmonth

From the @who "This year’s World Mental Health Day, on 10 October, comes at a time when our daily lives have changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The past months have brought many challenges: for health-care workers, providing care in difficult circumstances, going to work fearful of bringing COVID-19 home with them; for students, adapting to taking classes from home, with little contact with teachers and friends, and anxious about their futures; for wor...kers whose livelihoods are threatened; for the vast number of people caught in poverty or in fragile humanitarian settings with extremely limited protection from COVID-19; and for people with mental health conditions, many experiencing even greater social isolation than before. And this is to say nothing of managing the grief of losing a loved one, sometimes without being able to say goodbye. The economic consequences of the pandemic are already being felt, as companies let staff go in an effort to save their businesses, or indeed shut down completely. Given past experience of emergencies, it is expected that the need for mental health and psychosocial support will substantially increase in the coming months and years. Investment in mental health programmes at the national and international levels, which have already suffered from years of chronic underfunding, is now more important than it has ever been. This is why the goal of this year’s World Mental Health Day campaign is increased investment in mental health. For more information, visit https://www.who.int//world-me/world-mental-health-day-2020 #worldmentalhealthday #worldmentalhealthday2020 #mentalhealth #endthestigma

Another new baby through our Embryo Donation Program!

"I had nothing to give my child but love, and I knew enough to understand that the only way I could prove just how deep my love for her ran was to admit that the best life possible for her was not one that included being parented by me."

To teachers - whether you be teaching in kindergarten, elementary school, high school, college, university, and the workplace. Thank you for all you do. From @unesco "In 2020, World Teachers’ Day will celebrate teachers with the theme Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future. The day provides the occasion to celebrate the teaching profession worldwide, take stock of achievements, and draw attention to the voices of teachers, who are at the heart of efforts to at...tain the global education target of leaving no one behind. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly added to the challenges faced by already over-extended education systems throughout the world. It is no exaggeration to say that the world is at a crossroads and, now more than ever, we must work with teachers to protect the right to education and guide it into the unfolding landscape brought about by the pandemic." #worldteachersday

From World Smile Day: Harvey Ball, the recognized creator of Smiley in 1963, launched World Smile Day in 1999. It has been celebrated around the world on the first Friday of October since 1999. Join us that day and "Do an act of kindness. Help one person smile!" To learn more, visit http://www.worldsmileday.com/... #worldsmileday

September 30 is Orange Shirt Day. Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake in the spring of 2013. It grew out of Phyllis’s account of losing her shiny new orange shirt on her first day of school at the Mission, and it has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually. The date was chosen because children are back in school and teachers have tim...e to plan, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the year. Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and community agencies to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. To learn more, visit https://www.orangeshirtday.org #orangeshirtday #orangeshirtday2020

Orange Shirt Day (next week, on Sept 30th) honours and remembers the thousands of Indigenous children who were taken, suffered, and died in residential schools.... This beautiful design was created by Akwesasne artist Joseph King, as part of the Canada Border Services Agency's national Orange Shirt Day campaign. "King said he did his best to represent all nations and utilized the symbol of a helping hand, and a child’s hand. He incorporated First Nations imagery, Metis imagery and Inuit and Northwest Territories imagery, for a truly diverse design." Simply beautiful. https://bit.ly/3mLQMa9

The Adoption Council of Ontario is offering free webinars to enhance your adoption journey and allow you to learn about a variety of topics throughout the Fall! See what courses you may be interested in via the link below:

This blog from an Adopt4LifeOntario's Adoptive Parents Association community member shows why peer support, from other adoptive, kin, and customary care parents and caregivers who get it, is so critical: Their Parent2Parent Support Network connects adoptive, kin, and customary care families across Ontario every day. Don't walk this journey alone.

September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, Crisis Services Canada is there to help. Call them at 1-833-456-4566 any time, day or night, 365 days a year. Or visit https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca//looking-for-local-re/ to find resources in your community. ... #suicideprevention #suicidepreventionawareness

September 9th is International FASD Awareness Day. FASDs impact 2-5% of the population. 99% of people with an FASD are undiagnosed. FASD is an invisible, PHYSICAL disability.... FASD includes primary and secondary characteristics. Diagnosis AND Understanding prevent poor outcomes. FASD is a spectrum disorder and impacts everyone differently. FASD is lifelong and needs understanding, awareness and compassion. In honour of those who live with FASD every day, we encourage you to learn more about FASD today and in the future, to help end the stigma that so many live with. So that the child expressing behaviours in the classroom is no longer deemed the "bad" child. So that the individual who may not follow every societal norm isn't deemed as deviant or rude. So that each and every child and adult can receive the support hey need and deserve, not just on September 9th, but every day of their lives. #fasdawareness #fasdawarenessday #fetalalcoholspectrumdisorder #adoption

Happy labour day!

Looking for some additional support or insight into your adoption journey? Why not check out some of the past webinars presented by Adopt4Life - Ontario's Adoptive Parents Association?